Mail-crane.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905,

. WAUGH.

L CRANE.

FILED FEB. 13.1905.

iii-I llllllll .EIJ h lllllll I Witnesses Patented May 9, 1905.

TWICE.

ALBERT J. VVAUG-H, OF ASHTON, WVEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGN OR OF ON E-HALF TO JAMES A. RICHARDSON, OF ASHTON, EST VIRGINIA.

WII IIL CRANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,466, dated May 9, 1905. Application filed February 13, 1905. Serial No. 245,503.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT JNVAUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ashton, in the county of Mason and State of est Virginia, have invented anew and useful Mail- (lrane, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved mailcrane, and has for its object to provide a sim- IO ple, inexpensive, and eflicient device of this character for holding or suspending a mail sack or pouch in convenient position to be readily detached and delivered to the mailcatching arm of a moving train.

IS A further object of the invention is to provide means for moving the bag-supporting arms to inoperative position when the mail bag or pouch has been detached.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in, the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

0 In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mail-crane constructed in accordance with my invention, showing the base of the standard or post broken away and the mail-bag in position on the supportingarms. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig. 1 with the bag or pouch released and the su 'i 'iorting-arms in inoperative position.

Similar numerals of reference indicate cor- 4 responding parts in both figures of the drawings.

The crane consists of a post or standard 5, designed to be mounted adjacent the railwaytrack at the station, post-oflice, or other place where the mail is to be received and delivered.

The post 5 is provided with a longitudinal slot 6, the end. walls of which are inclined or beveled, as indicated at 7, and in which are mounted the pivoted arms 8, designed to support the mail bag or pouch 9. 5c

The bag-supporting arms 8 are preferably in the form of bell-crank lovers, the long arm of each of which is curved laterally, as indicated at 10, to correspond to the inclination of the end walls of the slot and provided with terminal recesses adapted to receive the re duced tongue of a pivoted hook 11, said hooks being provided with grooves or depressions 12 for the reception of the supporting-rings 13 of the mail bag or pouch, as shown. The short arms of the bell-crank levers extend through the slot 6 at the rear of the post and are formed with terminal apertures adapted to receive the hooked ends 14 of a preferably coiled spring 15, the normal tendency of which is to move the supporting-arms to inoperative position, with the eurved ends 10 thereof in contact with the inclined walls of the slot 6, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The intermediate portion of each supporting-arm is preferably bent or curved to form a loop or eye 16, which engages a pin or bolt 17, extending through the slot 6 and upon which said arms are pivoted. Extending across the slot 6 at the rear of the post or standard and secured to the latter in any suitable manner, as by screws 18, are plates 19, having their adjacent faces provided with segmental recesses 20, adapted to receive the short ends of the supportingarms and limit the vertical movement of the same and also receive the impact of said arms. It will thus be seen that the inclined walls of the slot 6 limit the expanding movement of the long arms of the bell-crank levers when 5 the bag is detached, while the plates 19 limit the expanding movement of the short arms thereof when contracting said arms preparatory to placing the bag in position to be detached by the catching arm or fork of the 9 moving train.

In operation when it is desired to deliver the outgoing mail the long arms of the bellcrank levers are depressed or drawn toward each other and the su 'iporting-rings of the mail bag or pouch slipped over the ends of the latter being each formed of a single piece out the necessity of especially equipped mathe arms and into the depressions in the pivoted books, the tension of the spring serving to exert an outward pressure or pull on the rings and prevent accidental displacement of the mail-ba As the train approaches the station the catching arm or fork of the latter engages the bag and causes the hooks to be shifted laterally, thereby permitting the rings to slide off the supporting arms without injury to either the mail-bag or said arms. As soon as the bag is detached the spring will move the arms to inoperative position, so as to avoid engagement with subsequent trains.

Attention is here called to the fact that the slot in the post or standard forms a partial housing for the bag-supporting arms, while of metal bent into the shape described may be manufactured at a verysmall cost and Withchinery.

It will of course be understood that the crane may be used either for single or double tracks, junctions, or double-track junctions and that the bag-supporting arms, if desired, may be pivoted to the side of the post or standard without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a mail-crane,a standard provided with a longitudinal slot, a pair of bag-supporting arms pivotally mounted in said slot, and a spring for moving said arms to inoperative position when the bag is released.

2. In a mail-crane, a standard, a pair of bell-crank levers pivoted to the standard. hooks pivoted to the long arms of said levers and adapted to engage a mail-bag,an d a spring secured to the short arms of said levers for moving said levers to inoperative position when the bag is released.

3. In a mailcrane,a standard provided with 1 a longitudinal slot, a pair of bag-supporting arms pivotally mounted in said slot, plates extending transversely across the slot at the rear of the standard and adapted to engage said arms, and a spring for moving said arms to inoperative position when the bag is released.

4:. In a mail-crane,a standard provided with a longitudinal slot the end walls of which are inclined or beveled, a pair of bag-supporting arms pivotally mounted in said slot and each having one end thereof bent to conform to the inclination of the end walls of said slot and provided with a terminal pivoted hook for engagement with the bag, and a spring secured to the opposite ends of the arms for moving said arms to inoperative position when the bag is released.

5. In a mail-crane, a standard, a pair of bag-supporting arms pivoted to the standard and each having an intermediate portion thereof bent to form a loop or eye, bolts engaging said loops or eyes,and aspring secured to said arms for moving the latter to inoperative position when the bag is released.

6. In a mail-crane,a standard provided with a longitudinal slot, bell-crank levers pivotally mounted in said slot and having their long arms provided with pivoted bag-engaging hooks and their short arms extending through the slot at the rear of the standard andprovided with terminal apertures, and a spring interposed between the short arms of said bell-crank levers and engaging the apertures therein.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

ALBERT J. WVAUGH.

'Witnesses:

WV. S. MOORE, HARRY NIPERT. 

